


Life is Never That Simple

by aducklingmuggingyou



Category: Into the Woods (2014), Into the Woods - Sondheim/Lapine
Genre: Angst and Feels, Babies, Canonical Character Death, Fluff, I just love the witch okay, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Names, and sad, it's sweet i swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28798938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aducklingmuggingyou/pseuds/aducklingmuggingyou
Summary: “And yours?”The Witch turned to look at her, mouth open and eyebrows raised in surprise. “Excuse me?”“Your name,” the Baker’s wife clarified, facing the Witch fully. “I never learned it.”-OR-With her daughter dead, the Witch doesn't quite know what to do with herself. The Baker's wife just wants to help.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Life is Never That Simple

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I wrote this story a while ago, but I was watching the original Into the Woods today and I remembered how much I love it (and this fic). It's always fascinated me why Sondheim chose not to name so many characters. So I came up with this. I hope you all like it! :)

There was a long period where time seemed to stand still. Of course, that’s how it always was in the Woods, but this felt different. Two people had died without so much as a blink of an eye from their killer. The Baker’s wife hadn’t even known them (though she thought that she might have recognized the corn-yellow hair of the young woman), and yet her body felt heavy with grief.

She stood and watched as the Witch stared at the place where the girl had been crushed. It wasn’t very messy; the cracked and somewhat soggy ground had seemed to swallow the girl’s body deep into its depths, but the Baker’s wife knew it would have been just as heartbreaking if the body was there. She had only known her own child for about six months, but she knew that if anything ever happened to him, she would be an inconsolable wreck. She couldn’t even imagine what the Witch must be feeling.

The Baker’s wife had been standing, frozen, for a long while, and it was the sight of a single tear rolling down the Witch’s face that finally propelled her into action. This was too heartbreaking a sight to let stand any longer.

The Baker’s wife walked forward, slowly coming to stand next to the Witch. There was another pregnant pause before she chose to speak first. “I don’t know what to say that will help you.”

“Then don’t say anything,” the Witch responded flatly, eyes locked on the ginormous footprint the Giant had left. The place where her daughter had been crushed and buried.

The Baker’s wife nodded silently and bowed her head. She still held her son in her arms, his little face soft with sleep. The taller woman rocked him gently within the basket he was sleeping in, humming a gentle tune.

“Rapunzel used to sing that song,” the Witch stated after a few moments. Her voice was trembling just a little, lost in memory and guilt.

“Rapunzel? What an unusual name. A version of the word rampion, if I am correct,” the Baker’s wife wondered aloud, glancing at the Witch.

“Yes.”

“And yours?”

The Witch turned to look at her, mouth open and eyebrows raised in surprise. “Excuse me?” 

“Your name,” the Baker’s wife clarified, facing the Witch fully. She was about a head taller than the other woman, but despite that, the Witch still struck an imposing figure with her grand dress and flowing cape. She shivered. “I never learned it.”

“I never wanted you too,” the Witch stated simply, quickly turning back to face the footprint-grave. “Why do you care, anyway?”

“Because everyone has a name, and each one belongs solely to that person. They are a part of each human, animal and plant alike,” the Baker’s wife explained, still facing the Witch. “Who would you be if you hadn’t a name?”

“The Witch.”

“Yes, but life is never that simple. I’m sure you know that.”

A long stretch of silence followed that statement, where both women stared, transfixed at the destruction of the Woods. There was the distant chatter of the group behind them, but it all seemed like a lifetime away, rather than the mere ten feet. The Witch was deep in memories, remembering everything she could about her precious flower. How she had raised her, taught her, sung to her, brushed and braided her hair, and, eventually, lost her. More tears rolled down her face at the painful reminder that to get what you want, you had better see that you are able to keep what you have. The Witch nearly tore out her hair at the thought of such a frustrating rule of life.

The Baker’s wife was reminiscing about her first trip into the Woods. She had learned many lessons along the way, all to have the child in her arms. Even so, it seemed that she had forgotten it all. Maybe that was why she was being so kind to the Witch. She had forgotten her sense of self preservation about two leaks back, and had yet to gain it again.

_ “The Woods will do that to you, I suppose,” _ the Baker’s wife thought to herself. She rocked her baby again in her arms.

“Marigold,” the Witch said suddenly, startling the Baker’s wife.

“Hmm?”

“My name. It’s Marigold.”

The Baker’s wife smiled and turned to meet Marigold’s eye. “Pleasure to meet you out here in the Woods, Marigold. My name is Ida.”

Holding her child to her side with one arm, Ida stuck out her hand for the shorter woman to shake.

Marigold stood frozen for a long moment, just staring at the proffered hand. What was this woman getting at? “Hello Ida,” she eventually responded, albeit hesitantly, while taking her hand and giving it a firm shake. Then dropped it like it was a hot potato.

Ida smiled gently. “See? Now I know you better. You are not just a Witch who cursed me once upon a time. You are now a person with feelings and a backstory I have yet to learn. Names have power, Marigold.”

Marigold narrowed her dark eyes.

“Trust me,” Ida pleaded.

Marigold took a step back, her breath hitching sharply.

Ida sighed softly, heart sinking. Then, as quickly as a flash of lightning, she had an idea. Ida’s face lit up, and she quickly knelt down near a fallen tree. Placing the wicker basket that held her son’s sleeping figure gently down on the trunk of the tree, Ida glanced up at Marigold.

The woman in question was staring at her with confusion and a look that said  _ ‘what the hell are you doing?’ _ .

Ida smiled up at her, before turning her attention back to her son. Reaching out, Ida carefully picked the child up and settled him in her arms. Righting herself once more, she faced a shocked looking Marigold. “His name is Finn. Take him; I trust you.”

“Wait, I—” Marigold tried to protest, but before she could, Ida was walking forward and placing the child in Marigold’s arms. Acting on instinct, she immediately shifted him and tucked the soft blanket more securely around his small body.

As she did so, Finn also shifted. His eyelids fluttered a bit, and he let out a soft cooing noise that, against her will, melted Marigold’s heart. Despite herself, she smiled down at the boy.

“See?” Ida chided, watching them. “Trust.”

“Trust,” Marigold repeated after a moment, nodding. She began to sway a little, the ends of her long hair tickling Finn’s nose and making him sneeze in his sleep. She shifted and tossed it out of the way, over her shoulder. “He’s sweet.”

Ida laughed lightly. “Yes, yes he is.”

Then, it was Marigold’s turn to hum a tune to the sleeping child in her arms. She rocked him in her arms, body swaying in time with the song she sang. As she did, her mind wandered to thoughts of her own daughter. It was bittersweet and definitely still painful, but, for the first time in her life, Marigold had hope. She would cry later, yes, but right now, with a child in her arms, Marigold didn’t feel so alone.

“ _ Careful, the things you say, children will listen. . .” _

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this short story about the Baker's wife and the Witch. Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated, along with constructive criticism.
> 
> Stay safe everyone!<3


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